: J. Chace Gordon
: Grace Empowerment The Enabling, Transforming Power of God
: BookBaby
: 9781543958560
: 1
: CHF 3.10
:
: Christentum
: English
: 200
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
Grace--the enabling, transforming power of God. We name our schools, our cathedrals, our hospitals and our children after it. We sometimes say it when we eat and say we are under it while we sin. We equate it with some kind of spiritual life-support for dying churches, dying people and empty offering plates. We use this term to link all that seems spiritual in religion with all that is pathetic. It's time to take off the stained-glass goggles and see grace for what it really is. It is the enabling, transforming power of God within believers that flows out from the core of their being to enable and transform their environment. This book is written to cause believers to be rejuvenated in faith and empowered for daily living, thus demonstrating the power of the Spirit in the earth. The included review questions make this an excellent resource for study groups!
CHAPTER 5: GRACE EMPOWERMENT
Of which I became a minister, according to the gift of thegrace of Godgiven to me by the effective working of His power.
—Ephesians 3:7
A Quick Recap
In the previous chapter, we took the first step toward unlocking grace empowerment in our lives. We recognized that in areas where grace is not reflected in our lives, our hearts have not been influenced. We then acted on that revelation through repentance. This puts us in a position to receive an outpouring of God’s grace.
Now that we have a better understanding of what grace is, let’s talk about what it is used for. You’ve already been given two key definitions to understand the operation of grace:
•Grace: God’s divine influence on the heart and its reflection in life.
•Grace Empowerment: God’s power working through us in all its effectiveness.
Jesus Himself walked in grace empowerment:
And the Child [Jesus] grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and thegrace of God was upon Him.
—Luke 2:40
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and infavor [charis,or “grace”] with God and men.
—Luke 2:52
Like Jesus, our example in the faith, we also are called to be ministers of God’s grace in the earth. However, we can only do that if we ourselves are empowered by grace!
Of which I became a minister, according to the gift of thegrace of Godgiven to me by the effective working of His power.
—Ephesians 3:7
Grace Empowers Us for Action!
We cannot sit on our laurels and wait for God to sovereignly save the world—we have been given that power and authority in the earth! God was our divine intervention at the cross so that we could be His representatives of divine intervention in the earth. So rise up, saints! There is work to do! We cannot do it ourselves, but the grace of God working through us can, so… no more excuses!
In the following verses, I hope to paint a picture